The Red Rose Under the Full Moon
by Eluzar666
Summary: Princess Emily is returning from boarding school when she discovers that her mother has hired a new servant named Billy Madison. But then at the same time, Prince Simon of Vamporair is sneaking around on the castle grounds. What does Simon want? And what
1. Chapter 1: Caderro

Author's note: Hi people! I'm new here and this is the first story that I've posted. The chapters will be small and every characters are mine as well as the cities, so please don't take them!

thank you, VampireLadii2

The Red Rose Under the Full Moon

Chapter 1: Caderro

The pearl, white stallions sped through the forest pulling a white carriage behind them. Their nostrils flared as they hurried to get to the palace in Caderro. Inside the carriage, a teenage girl with blue eyes and long, wavy, brunette hair gazed out the window and watched the lush, green forest fly past them.

With a sigh, the girl sat back onto the aquamarine cushions and played with a lock of her hair. She then plucked her tiara off her head and gazed at it. The small diamonds glittered in the setting sun, and a heart-shaped mystic topaz stared back at her. She then replaced the jewels back onto her head and watched as the forest slowly turned into a wide open prairie in the pink and orange rays of the setting sun.

The carriage slowed to a stop and the driver jumped down from his perch, grabbed the gold handle, and opened the door.

"Would you like to stretch your legs, Princess?" he asked. His green eyes sparkled, and his long, black hair was pulled back into a low pony-tail. A few hairs on his chin showed that he was just starting to grow a goatee.

"I'd like that," the princess replied, taking hold of his hand so she wouldn't fall. "Thank you, David."

He smiled a lopsided smile that he was famous for, "Anything for you, Emily. But tell me, how was that gruesome boarding school?"

"For starters," Emily responded, "Lolita is doing fine, and she says that she misses you. But that school is a nightmare!"

"How can you stand her?"

"Stand who?"

"How can you stand that awful headmistress?" David asked wrinkling his narrow nose. "Sure she can be happy on minute, but then the next minute, she's screaming at you with fire coming out of her mouth!"

"And this is the same exaggerating boy that sneaked into the kitchen with me at night," Emily remarked, raising one plucked eyebrow. She then played with the green bow that went with her green uniform, "how has my mother been?"

David crossed his arms and looked at the sunset with a worried expression, "well, after you left, she was getting a little too agitated. And not long ago, she hired a new servant named Billy Madison. But we need to get back on the road; it's not that far from Caderro."

Emily nodded and David helped her back into the carriage. They were soon hurrying down the dirt road to Caderro, Kingdom of humans.

After about ten minutes of gazing out the window, Emily curled herself on the soft cushions and fell asleep.

"Emily," A woman's voice called, "Emily, wake up, dear."

Emily opened her eyes and looked into the unforgettable face of her mother. She looked like an older version of Emily, except her hair was a fiery red and the freckles that dotted her face and along her arms.

"Mother," Emily yawned as she sat up, "I was having a great dream."

"Then we better get you to bed," the queen said, "Billy, can you take her suitcase?"

A tall dark man trotted to the queen's side and bowed gracefully, "as you wish, my lady." He lifted the large, black suitcase into his arms and walked through the tall, gold rimed, mahogany doors.

"Is that the new servant?" Emily whispered to David after he helped her out of the carriage.

"Yes," David replied sourly, "I don't like him though, there's something about him that makes the hair on my arms rise."

They wandered into the palace and emerged into a large hall that was the size of a soccer field. The floor was made of white marble, as well as the stairs, and the carpet that was in all the rooms -as Emily remembered- was a crimson red.

An Asian girl in her mid-twenties was waiting by the large stairs. Her long, raven black hair was in a braid and her eyes were a coffee brown. A smile crept onto her face and she hurried over to David and Emily.

"I'll take her from her, David," she said, "besides; no men are allowed in Emily's room."

David's emerald eyes narrowed and a brow rose, "who made _these _rules, Heather?"

Heather half playfully, half annoyed punched David in the arm, "the queen did!"

David backed away and looked at Emily, "I'll see you tomorrow, Em!" He then turned and hurried away before Heather could bat him.

"See you tomorrow!" Emily called after him, and then turning to Heather, "let's go."

Heather and Emily walked side by side up the stairs, chattering away about the boarding school, the classes, the teachers, and the gruesome headmistress. They were busy laughing when Emily crashed into something and fell to the floor. She looked up and saw Billy towering above her, his eyes were black and his black brows were knitted together.

A sound that almost resembled a growl rumbled in the back of Heather's throat, making Billy jump back.

"Sorry," Billy muttered, his voice was deep so it was hard to hear him, "but next time, watch where you're going." He helped Emily to her feet and darted down the hall.

"How rude," Heather muttered as she watched him retreat, "I'm sorry about growling, it's hard when you're a vampire working for a royal human family."

"It's alright, Heather," Emily replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "you just reacted because you were only being protective."

They continued down the hall until Heather stopped in front of a mahogany door and bowed slightly, "I'll leave you alone for the night, Princess, but if you need anything, just call." And then, she vanished.

Emily entered the large room and closed the door behind her. The white wardrobe was next to her desk up against the right wall, and her queen sized bed with its crimson sheets was against the right wall. The walls were a pale rose and a gold chandelier with crystals hung in the center of the ceiling.

Emily changed out of her school uniform and slipped into a pale blue night gown. She then opened the glass doors that led to a small balcony and stepped into the pale moonlight. She looked down into the large garden that had a water fountain in the center. But then, something under a tree caught her attention.

A dark shape that looked like a man stood looking up at her balcony under the cherry blossom tree. Emily blinked, but the figure had disappeared. Nervous, Emily backed into her room and locked the doors before she crawled into bed.

The only vampire that she knew of was Heather, who came from the nearby kingdom of Vamporair. Vamporair was a kingdom that was ruled by a vampire royal family. But the royal family, even the citizens, who were also vampires, could walk around in the daylight, as well as the dark without sleep.

Emily yawned and pulled the sheets up to her chin and slowly dozed off.


	2. Chapter 2: The Visiters And Billy

Author's note: Hi people! I hope that you've liked the first chapter of my story, and I hope you like this chapter. every characters are mine as well as the cities, so please don't take them! But please review!

thank you, VampireLadii2

Chapter 2:

The glow of the bright, morning sun made Emily wake up. She stretched, yawned, threw on a sapphire blue dress –though it was rare to even see her in one- and made her way down the brightly lit corridor and down the stairs.

Emily's sharp ears heard voices in the library, one of the voices was her mother's, but the other's were unrecognizable. She tip-toed to the closed doors of the library and pressed her ear against the cool wood.

"It's a surprise to see you here, my friend," her mother said, "but what brings you to my kingdom?"

"I heard that your lovely daughter had returned, Zahra," Replied a deep, friendly voice, "and I wanted my son to meet her, since they haven't seen each other in years."

"Excellent point, Lord Dante," her mother laughed, "let me see if she's awake and decent."

"No need, your majesty," a voice spoke up, "she's standing outside the doors, listening to our conversation."

The doors suddenly flew open and Emily looked into the hazel eyes of a young man about her age. He was much taller that her by about five or six inches. His bleached hair was haloed by the light of the sun, but his expression was unreadable. His clothes looked like they were made of silk and his red cape hung limply behind him.

A smile flexed slowly onto his face, then disappeared. He bowed gracefully and moved out of the way so Emily could enter the library.

The library had large windows that nearly reached the ceiling with burgundy drapes. Bookshelves lined the walls, and a meeting table sat in front of one of the large windows.

Seated in one of the comfortable chairs was a man in his mid-forties or early fifties. His long, silvery-white beard reached the center of his chest, and his long, silvery-white hair flowed down his back; His eyes were sea foam green, and a gold crown with a large, round ruby rested on his head.

"Emily," his said, green eyes twinkling, "my my, you look just like your mother here! But I suspect that you act like you father, no? But the last time I saw you, you were about seven!" He pointed a strong hand at the young man beside Emily, "this is my son Simon, you two created so much chaos. But you probably don't remember me," he stood, took one of Emily's hands, and kissed it, "I'm Lord Dante, King of Vamporair."

"Dante," Zahra coughed, "I think we should let Emily eat her breakfast before she passes out on us." The queen flicked her eyes to Emily and smiled, "I'll see you in the dining hall, dear. But first, would you like to join us, Dante?"

Lord Dante laughed heartedly, "no my dear Zahra. Sadly, Simon and I must return to Vamporair. But why not let Simon walk Emily to the dining hall as we talk a little longer?"

Her mother's eyes brightened and she nodded, "you remember where the dining hall is right, Simon?" she asked.

Simon nodded and followed Emily out and down a hallway.

"It's been a while, Emily," he muttered softly, "how old are you now? 16? 17?"

"19," Emily corrected, she looked up and caught Simon's golden eyes watching her. His eyes flicked away and his gentle features hardened, eyes narrowed, bleach brows knitted together, and his thin nostrils flared.

Emily looked down the hall and saw Billy walking towards them. His hands were clenched together and he looked like that he was ready to knock someone out. Emily felt Simon's elbow nudge her gently in the ribs, indicating to move over some. But at first glance, Billy sharply took a right and stormed out of sight.

"Princess,"

The familiar voice calmed Emily and she turned to see Heather hustling after them.

"Heather, what's with the worried look?" Emily asked jokingly.

Heather narrowed her dark eyes, "you weren't in your room and I thought someone had kidnapped you." Heather stared at Simon and whispered, "Your Majesty."

Simon nodded slightly and turned to Emily, "I'll leave you to Heather, but promise me something."

"Sure," Emily shrugged, "I'll do anything."

Simon leaned in till their noses were almost touching, he glared into her blue eyes seriously and said, "Stay away from Billy Madison. He's dangerous, Em. Promise me that you'll stay away from him." His breath was gentle and it was almost like a cold breeze brushing her face.

"I promise," Emily squeaked, "but why is he dangerous?"

His eyes hardened and he straightened himself, "I can't tell you now, but I'll tell you later." He ran a cool, narrow hand across her cheek and retreated back to the library.

After his form was barely noticeable, Emily turned to Heather with a grin.

"Emily," Heather pleaded, knowing what the princess was going to do. "Did you not hear what Prince Simon said? Billy's dangerous!"

Emily's grin widened, "he _did_ say that, didn't he? But, who said I didn't have my toes crossed?" Heather gasped and Emily skipped down the hall.

"But you don't know what Billy can do! What if he hurts you? I'll get blamed!"

"That's when I'll blame it on Simon."

"You can't!"

"Who says," Emily questioned, "that I can't blame it on someone that told me NOT to go near that person?"

Heather threw her hands in the air, "that's it! I give up! Do what you want to do, Emily! But if Billy hurts you, don't come crying to me!"

"Don't worry," Emily giggled, "I have it all planed out." And with that, the two girls walked to the dining hall.

After a nice, hot breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, hash browns and strawberry short-cake, Emily searched high and low for Billy. But after thirty minutes of searching in the castle, she gave up and went out to the garden.

The morning sun warmed her skin and a stray breeze lifted a strand of hair off her shoulder. The garden was filled with a variety of flowers from Striped Wintergreen to Red Roses. The pond was filled with Fragrant Water Lilies and Water Hyacinths; and moonfish swam around under the clear surface of the water.

Following the stone path, Emily strolled along and gazed at the bright flowers. The sound of the fountain hummed in her ears, but stopped five feet away when she noticed Billy sitting on the edge of the fountain. His eyes were closed and he looked like he was listening to his surroundings. Emily gathered all her courage and walked up to Billy's relaxed figure.

As she approached, Billy turned his head in her direction and stared at her with shock.

"Billy," Emily said, thinking of what to say, "I know we got off on a bad start, but I'd like to get to know you better, and I'd like it if we can be friends."

"Friends?" Billy scoffed, "what princess makes friends with her servants?"

Emily narrowed her blue eyes, "I'm not like all the other princesses."

"Oh really," Billy said, raising a black brow. "Name one thing that you do different."

"The one thing that I do different," Emily started, "is that I treat every servant with respect, and I treat them like normal beings. Their not animals that you can just push around."

Billy clapped his strong hands and smiled, "bravo, Princess, bravo. Maybe we can be friends." He patted the empty seat beside him, and Emily sat next to him. They talked about hobbies, family, favorite things to do, and before Emily knew it, it was like she knew Billy like the back of her hand.

"I'm going out tomorrow," Billy said, looking at Emily with chocolate brown eyes, "so if you want, you can come with me."

"Depends on where you're going."

"I'm going hunting in the woods next to the palace," Billy replied, pointing towards the southwest. "The queen wants me to hunt down a Puma that's been killing the sheep in town."

"And you want me to go with you?" Emily muttered, "sorry, but that's at the bottom of my death list."

Billy chuckled and rose to his feet; he then held out a hand and helped Emily to her feet.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Princess," Billy said before he turned and walk away. Once he was out of sight, Emily did a little victory dance.

_And you said he was dangerous, Simon,_ she thought sourly, _but like the saying goes 'never judge a book by its cover.' _


	3. Chapter 3: Midnight Surprise

A/N: hey everyone! sorry for the wait, i was having a debate of what to write next! haha! ENJOY! and if you leave a review, maybe i'll add a new chapter! and my apolagies if this chapter is too short...

Simon: All characters and places belong to VampireLadii2

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Chapter 3: Midnight Surprise

That night, Emily sat at her desk writing a letter to Lolita when a dark shadow caught her eye. She leaped out of her chair and rushed out to stand on the small balcony.

The shadowy figure was under the tree again.

Emily threw on her see-through bathrobe, and using an escape rope that she kept in handy when she wanted to sneak out of the palace, she climbed down into the garden. Once her bare feet touched the stones, she ran as fast as she could towards the cherry blossom tree, hoping that the figure didn't leave. Emily rushed over a small, stone bridge with a strong sense that the figure was still there. When she neared the pink petal tree, she sighed in relief.

The figure was still standing under the tree, as if they were waiting for her. The full moon was high in the dark velvet sky, and it made the cherry blossom tree a slight glow; it almost looked romantic.

Emily neared the stranger with caution and realized that the figure was wearing a black, hooded cloak to hide their face. She stopped a few feet away and stared at the cloaked figure, but then she noticed the glowing yellow eyes and gasped.

"Don't panic," the cloaked figure said softly, "it's me."

"Of coarse it's you," Emily mumbled, "your eyes give you away, Simon"

Simon chuckled softly and removed the hood so Emily could see his face. The moonlight gave him a mysterious glow and his smile made him look as if he was a god.

"What would you be doing," Simon snickered, "running around in your nightgown?"

Emily looked down and saw that he was right. Her thin, pale blue nightgown went down to her ankles, and to her horror, she could see a little cleavage. She wrapped her bathrobe around herself and tied the silk ribbons so it wouldn't fall open.

"You know," Simon murmured, stepping closer to Emily, "you look cute when you blush." He was only inches away from Emily, so close that she could hug him. Simon lowered his head so his eyes were leveled with hers.

Emily nearly jumped out of her skin as Simon gently pressed his cool lips against hers. But after a moment, she started to feel drowsy and collapsed in his strong arms.

"Oops," Simon muttered as he looked at Emily's passed out form, "that was definitely NOT supposed to happen." He lifted her into his arms and sneaked into the palace without being seen.


	4. Chapter 4: The HUnt

A/N: Yay! finally a new chapter! Sorry for the long wait, I didn't really know what to write!

Emily: All characters and places belong to VampireLadii2

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Chapter 4: The Hunt

Emily woke up and found herself back in her room. She looked next to her and saw a Forget-Me-Not lying on the pillow beside her. Beside the light-bluish flower was a cream colored note card that read in bold black ink: _stay away from him, love Simon._

She shook her head and laid the card next to the flower again. Leaping out of bed, Emily pulled on her tight, black hunting pants and her tight hunting shirt. She then slipped into her black hunting boots and jogged out of her room.

_I wonder if he's waiting,_ Emily thought as she neared the stairs, _if not, I'm going to hunt him down. _

But to Emily's surprise, Billy was patently waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase. In one hand, he held Emily's long-bow, and in the other hand, he held her brown arrow bag that held her arrows. He looked up and smirked as he watched Emily leaped down the stairs.

"'Bout time," he muttered, "I was just about to leave till I heard your foot falls." He handed her the bow and the bag and walked towards the door. Emily trotted after him; bag hanging off her back and long-bow in her right hand.

The morning sun stung her eyes as they left the inside shade of the palace. Squinting, she let her eyes adjust to the brightness of the sun. Emily noticed that two, white stallions were saddled in brown hunting gear. Billy walked over to the closest stallion and helped Emily up onto the back and walked over to the other and seated himself. He took hold of the brown leather reins and rode through the side gate with Emily close behind him.

The trees cast shadows through their green leaves as Emily and Billy cantered down an old hunting trail. The hooves thundered in rhythm as they rode along in silence, but eyes peeled for any sign of the puma.

"Where was the puma last sighted?" Emily asked as they came to a fork in the road.

Billy looked both ways and replied, "A hiker said that he saw the puma walk off to the right," he pointed his right pointer finger to the path that curved right, "so I'm guessing we go right, but lets keep the horses at a walk, just in case we miss it."

_Strange_, thought Emily as she followed him down the path, _why am I not buying his story?_

After twenty minutes of silence, and no sign of the puma anywhere, they came to a small clearing. There was a Weeping Willow on a small island surrounded by a small body of water. The vines hung down like thin ropes, touching the water. The water gleamed like diamonds as the sun's light danced on the navy blue surface.

"What is this place," Emily asked, "And what are we doing here?" She glared at Billy's back with suspicion.

"Getting away from the palace," Billy said after a while, "I think you'd be getting sick of staying on the palace grounds." He stopped and got off his horse and caught Emily's glare, "I guess your thinking that you're being betrayed, but your not. I'm giving you free time from the palace life so you can act like the girls in the city."

Emily rode up beside him and narrowed her sapphire eyes, "for some reason, I'm not buying any of this. Do you know what my mother would do if she found out that you lied to her?"

Billy shrugged and laughed, "I don't care what she does! All you ever do is wander the castle grounds without stepping into the city itself." He held up a large hand and helped her down, "for once in your life, would you do something than sit around the palace?"

Emily averted her eyes and gazed at the sparkling water. She liked being in the castle and she would go into the city to visit David and his little golden haired sister Brittney. But strangely, she hadn't seen him since she arrived home.

"Something wrong?" Billy asked.

"Huh? Oh! No, everything's fine," Emily lied.

"Liar, something's wrong."

"It's nothing."

"Don't lie to me, Emily," Billy murmured, wrapping his arms around her and holding Emily close, "You can tell me anything."

Emily opened her mouth to speak, but a low growl was heard in the shadows behind her. She spun around to see a cloaked figure standing in the shadows, lips curled back to bare his teeth. The once golden eyes were now pitch black pools that seemed to go on forever.

"Get your hands off of her, Madison," Simon snarled, his eyes then flicked from Billy to Emily, "Emily, get away from him!"

"Emily, run!" Billy yelled as two other cloaked figures came from behind the trees.

But Emily couldn't move. Her feet felt like they were planted into the soil.

_Run!_ Her mind screamed, _Run!_

Billy pushed Emily away from him and Emily finally took off. She raced through the forest without looking back, tears threatened to break, but she fought them off. Emily stopped to catch her breath, her lungs felt like someone was sitting on her chest. She leaned her back against a large oak tree and listened to her surroundings; but the forest was silent as death.

Strong, icy hands seized her by the shoulders and Emily gasped as she stared into the bottomless pools of Simon's black eyes.

"I told you to stay away from him!" He growled viciously, shaking Emily a bit in his bone breaking grip, "Why did you ignore me!"

"Because I didn't know if you were telling the truth or not," Emily sobbed, her tears blurring her vision, "He looked harmless."

Simon's eyes softened and he held her tightly against his hard chest and Emily burst into tears. She felt Simon run his fingers through her brown hair; she pushed up against him, as if begging to be held more tightly.

"Wait," Emily said, pushing herself away from his cool chest and stared into his now clear, yellow eyes, "How did you know that I was out here?"

"Heather contacted me," he replied, "She told me that you and Billy were going into the forest to hunt down a puma. I thought the story sounded suspicious, so I brought two of my guards with me and tracked you down." He closed his eyes and shook his head, his brows knitting together, "when I finally found you, I looked into his mind and saw what he really wanted to do."

"What did he want to do?" Emily asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"Dearest Emily," Simon whispered, cupping her face with his hands, "Billy was going to-"

"Lord Simon," a female voice called behind him, "Billy Madison got away again, sir."

Simon released Emily and turned to look at the cloaked woman, "thank you, Bella. Tell Patrick to meet me at the palace in Caderro."

Bella bowed and vanished, but judging the sudden flick of Simon's eyes indicated that he had seen her go.

"Shouldn't we get the horses?" Emily asked as she remembered the stallions. "I mean, what if the puma gets them or-"

"There was no puma, it was a way to get you out of the palace," Simon said, "And the horses were killed when we tried to arrest him."

"So how are we getting back home?"

"We're walking."

"Great idea," Emily muttered, "Now I can lose that two pounds I've been going for."

Simon laughed, took her hand in his, and walked up the path. They were silent for a long time, but every time Emily looked into Simon's eyes, she could tell the he was thinking about something.

The white walls of Caderro suddenly loomed before them like a sudden mist and Emily's stomach churned at the thought of what was going to happen next.

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The end of the chapter! please be kind and leave a review and maybe I'll add a new chapter here soon!

VampireLadii2


	5. The Destruction of Caderro

A/N: Sorry that i've kept all of u waiting! i've been having some family problems and school sucks! hope u like this chapter. bows and thanks to all of those who have waited pationtly, and i'll try working on chapter 6 here soon!

Emily: Everything here belongs to VampireLadii2!

Chapter 5: The Destruction of Caderro

Emily stared at the red carpet in the queen's office as Simon told her mother what happened. Zahra's head nodded after each of his sentences and her eyes were closed in thought as if she was getting the image of everything that had happened. Her braided, red hair looked like a long, fiery rope trailing down the side of her head, and her metallic green dress made her skin look a creamy white.

"Thank you, Simon," Zahra said when Simon finished. "Now I know what he was really trying to do."

"If it's alright with you, your majesty," Simon said, "I was thinking about searching for Billy."

The queen nodded in response, "do as you wish."

Simon bowed gracefully and departed with his two guards following closely at his heels. Zahra and Emily were silent after they left. So silent, that Emily could almost hear her heart beat.

_Please say something,_ Emily begged in her head, _just say anything!_

"Well," the queen started slowly, making Emily inch to the edge of her seat. "After what happened today, I'm going to have security on high alert and Heather is going to be with you all the time."

_Heather I don't care about,_ Emily thought, _when am I going to see David again?_

"Mom," Emily said, struggling for the words, "is there anything I need to know about David?"

Zahra's face suddenly went pale, probably as pale as Simon's skin. Emily noticed her mother hesitate and shift uncomfortably in her seat. Then, Zahra took her daughter's hand, and looked Emily dead in the eye.

"Emily, about David," Zahra bit her bottom lip and averted her eyes to the desk, "David was found dead while you were out."

Emily only heard the words 'David was found dead.' The rest felt pointless and she felt herself feel weak.

"Emily? Sweetie, are you alright?"

The only response Zahra received was the loud thud Emily made when she hit the floor.

Emily woke up and stared at the dark ceiling of her room. The words from earlier echoed through her mind like a broken record player.

A sudden sound startled Emily from her train of thought and she tiptoed quietly to the door and pressed her ear against the cool mahogany. She waited a moment, and then she heard the sound again and backed away in horror.

The sounds were from someone dieing.

Emily panicked, what was she going to do? Should she go help the person, or should she make an escape out the window? Gathering her courage, she opened the door and stepped into the hallway, but the sight sent chills of terror down her spine.

Blood covered the white walls and stained the carpet, and continued down to the stairs. Emily touched the crimson substance on the wall and studied it. The blood was still fresh, and that meant the killer was still around.

A hand suddenly grabbed Emily's ankle and she cried out. Looking down, she saw Heather covered in blood. Her black hair was matted here and there, but her back revealed multiple bite wounds.

"Run" she gasped, "run, Emily! Billy's here and he's killed everyone!"

Emily felt sick again, "I won't leave you."

The grip on Emily's ankle tightened, "don't be a fool! Run! He'll kill you too if you don't!"

An antagonized scream rang out from somewhere in the castle, bringing Emily back to her senses. But she didn't want to leave her friend.

"Run dammit!" Heather cried, "save yourself!"

Emily nodded in defeat and ran toward the stairs. The stench of blood filled her nostrils, making her run faster. But a more gruesome sight awaited her at the bottom of the stairs.

The dead bodies of the guardsmen littered the floor, and to Emily's horror, Zahra's body was laying in her own blood.

"Mother!" Emily cried and she raced to the queen's side, "speak to me, say something!"

A hand moved and a painful groan escaped her mother's lips.

"Emily," Zahra said weakly, "leave the city; flee for your very life!"

"I can't abandon you," Emily sobbed, remembering Heather.

"Do as I say, Sweetie," Zahra begged.

Laughter rang from behind her and Emily turned around and stared at Billy, who was covered in blood.

"Surprise, princess," he chortled evilly, and pointed a bloody hand towards the large doors. "But the best surprise is outside."

Emily's stomach churned as she ran outside. What she saw finally brought her to her knees and she began to cry.

The bodies of the citizens were sprawled across the city, and a large fire was rapidly growing by the minute. The many flames stretched up towards the heavens and licked the inky blue sky.

"Like what you see?" Billy's voice was right by her ear. "All just for you."

Emily didn't respond. She was too focused on the horror that was happening before her.

"Why?" Emily sobbed, "why are you doing this!?"

Billy smiled menacingly, "to show you reality." He moved her hair away from her neck and stroked her throat.

"And now," he said as he lowered his head towards her neck, "I'll put you out of your misery, Emily."

Billy let out a painful scream and he threw Emily as if she was a doll.

Emily flew through the air and she felt her limp body collide with someone else's. Looking up, she saw Simon's handsome face, his face splattered with blood from when he had stabbed Billy in the back. Simon looked down and their eyes connected.

"Stay with me, Em," Simon whispered, stroking her cheek, "stay with me."

Emily heard Billy say "I'm outta here" and Simon yell Billy's name before she lost consciousness.


End file.
